Herbs Of The Garden

The English word "herb" originated from a Latin word, herba, which meant to eat, or to nourish. While many today regard a "herb" as a relatively minor ingredient "used in cookery for its savory qualities," "herb," as in "herbaceous," actually means "any plant with a soft or succulent stem which dies to the root every year, as distinguished from a tree or a shrub" (The Consolidated Webster Encyclopedic Dictionary). As we will read in this study, the Holy Bible uses "herb" both ways.

On the third day of creation, before the creation of animals and humans, "the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind" i.e. grass and trees, with all other plant life a "herb."

"1:9 And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so. 1:10 And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good [see also How Did The Flood Happen?].

1:11 And God said [see What Does Word of God Mean To You?], Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so. 1:12 And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good. 1:13 And the evening and the morning were the third day." (Genesis 1:9-13 KJV)

The first humans were vegetarians: "I have given every green herb for meat" (the original meaning of "meat" was food, in general).

"1:24 And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle [see also The Herds Of Abraham, Isaac And Jacob], and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so. 1:25 And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

1:26 And God said, Let us make man in our image [see also Appearances Of The LORD God], after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

1:27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them [see also Where Is Eve Today?].

1:28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

1:29 And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. 1:30 And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so.

1:31 And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day." (Genesis 1:24-31 KJV)

The second chapter of Genesis is a magnified view of the first chapter's account of the creation of humans - the first of which was created from the ground, and then given to eat the "herbs" that grew out of the same ground i.e. the plants were a means of delivering what "Adam" had been created from ("Adam" originated from the Hebrew word, pronounced aw-dawm, which means man as a species, male and female).

"2:4 These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God [see The First Act Of Faith] made the earth and the heavens,

2:5 And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the LORD God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground.

2:6 But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground.

2:8 And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden [see The Garden In Eden]; and there he put the man whom he had formed.

2:9 And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil." (Genesis 2:4-9 KJV)

The LORD then instructed the man that he could, along with "herbs," also eat tree fruit, from any tree in the Garden, except a test tree (which may have been of the same species as others that could be used for food). The only kind of tree fruit specifically stated to be in the Garden of Eden was the fig tree.

"2:15 And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.

2:16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:
2:17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die." (Genesis 2:15-17 KJV)

Eve was created in a way different from Adam, but of Adam. Eve's "bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh" creation made her, in effect, the first human to have a transplant and a blood transfusion.

"2:21 And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; 2:22 And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man [see Brides From Their Sides].

2:23 And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.

2:24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh. 2:25 And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed [see The Two Ways That Sin Is Hidden]." (Genesis 2:21-25 KJV)

When the first humans chose to become unfaithful to the LORD (see The Church In The Garden), they were put out where they would no longer find their food awaiting them, in trees and herbs that the LORD planted, but they would then have to fight "thorns and thistles" to grow their own "herb of the field."

"3:17 And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it [see Do You Want A Servant Or A Serpent?]: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; 3:18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; 3:19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return." (Genesis 3:17-19 KJV)

Humanity continued as vegetarians until after the Flood, when the LORD instructed Noah "every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things." That obviously did not include "unclean" animals (e.g. rats, vultures), nor did it mean that their meat was to be eaten raw.

"9:1 And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth [see The Voyage To The New World]. 9:2 And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, upon all that moveth upon the earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea; into your hand are they delivered. 9:3 Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things.

9:4 But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat. 9:5 And surely your blood of your lives will I require; at the hand of every beast will I require it, and at the hand of man; at the hand of every man's brother will I require the life of man.

9:6 Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man.

9:7 And you, be ye fruitful, and multiply; bring forth abundantly in the earth, and multiply therein." (Genesis 9:1-7 KJV)

Centuries later, at the time of the Exodus, some of the plagues upon the stubborn Pharaoh were directed at his nation's "herbs of the field" and "trees of the field."

"9:25 And the hail smote throughout all the land of Egypt all that was in the field, both man and beast; and the hail smote every herb of the field, and brake every tree of the field.

9:26 Only in the land of Goshen [see Why Did They Go To Goshen?], where the children of Israel were, was there no hail." (Exodus 9:25-26 KJV)

What the hail missed, or merely knocked to the ground, was consumed by hordes of locusts.

"10:12 And the LORD said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand over the land of Egypt for the locusts [see Locusts In History And Prophecy], that they may come up upon the land of Egypt, and eat every herb of the land, even all that the hail hath left.

10:13 And Moses stretched forth his rod over the land of Egypt, and the LORD brought an east wind [see In The Day Of The East Wind] upon the land all that day, and all that night; and when it was morning, the east wind brought the locusts. 10:14 And the locusts went up over all the land of Egypt, and rested in all the coasts of Egypt: very grievous were they; before them there were no such locusts as they, neither after them shall be such. 10:15 For they covered the face of the whole earth, so that the land was darkened; and they did eat every herb of the land, and all the fruit of the trees which the hail had left: and there remained not any green thing in the trees, or in the herbs of the field, through all the land of Egypt." (Exodus 10:12-15 KJV)

12:2 This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you.
12:3 Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house: 12:4 And if the household be too little for the lamb, let him and his neighbour next unto his house take it according to the number of the souls; every man according to his eating shall make your count for the lamb. 12:5 Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats: 12:6 And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening [see Nisan 14: The Sacrifice Of The Lamb Of God].

12:7 And they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses, wherein they shall eat it. 12:8 And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire, and unleavened bread; and with bitter herbs they shall eat it. 12:9 Eat not of it raw, nor sodden at all with water, but roast with fire; his head with his legs, and with the purtenance thereof. 12:10 And ye shall let nothing of it remain until the morning; and that which remaineth of it until the morning ye shall burn with fire.
12:11 And thus shall ye eat it; with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in haste: it is the LORD's passover." (Exodus 12:1-11 KJV)

The Israelites had entered Egypt four centuries earlier to escape a famine (see Why Did They Go To Goshen?). The Nile River and Delta were then, as they still are today (as shown in the photograph) a natural resource that prospered the nation. The LORD promised the Israelites the same in their own land - if they would obey Him there (look at the extensive deserts and wastelands of "Israel" today to see if they have, yet).

"11:8 Therefore shall ye keep all the commandments which I command you this day, that ye may be strong, and go in and possess the land, whither ye go to possess it; 11:9 And that ye may prolong your days in the land, which the LORD sware unto your fathers to give unto them and to their seed, a land that floweth with milk and honey [see The Way To The Land Of Milk And Honey].

11:10 For the land, whither thou goest in to possess it, is not as the land of Egypt, from whence ye came out [see also Abraham's Seed: From The Nile To The Euphrates], where thou sowedst thy seed, and wateredst it with thy foot, as a garden of herbs: 11:11 But the land, whither ye go to possess it, is a land of hills and valleys, and drinketh water of the rain of heaven: 11:12 A land which the LORD thy God careth for: the eyes of the LORD thy God are always upon it, from the beginning of the year even unto the end of the year. 11:13 And it shall come to pass, if ye shall hearken diligently unto my commandments which I command you this day, to love the LORD your God, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul, 11:14 That I will give you the rain of your land in his due season, the first rain and the latter rain, that thou mayest gather in thy corn, and thy wine, and thine oil. 11:15 And I will send grass in thy fields for thy cattle, that thou mayest eat and be full." (Deuteronomy 11:8-15 KJV)

Notice the blessing that the LORD promises, and delivers, to those who truly obey Him: "My doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass."

"32:1 Give ear, O ye heavens, and I will speak; and hear, O earth, the words of my mouth. 32:2 My doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass: 32:3 Because I will publish the name of the LORD [see also Did Abraham, Isaac and Jacob Know 'The LORD'?]: ascribe ye greatness unto our God. 32:4 He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he." (Deuteronomy 32:1-4 KJV)

The Messiah often used parables and lessons involving agriculture. His "grain of mustard seed" is one of the most well known (it also illustrates the extremes in the meaning of "herb" - the Middle East mustard tree can grow to a height of about 20 feet).

"13:31 Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven [see The Constitution Of The Kingdom Of God] is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field: 13:32 Which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof." (Matthew 13:31-32 KJV)

Jesus Christ fulfilled many of the things that the "first Adam" failed to do, including properly tending to the Garden, that for both of them, was composed of all of humanity.

"15:1 I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. 15:2 Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit [see The Manner Of Fruit]. 15:3 Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. 15:4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. 15:5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. 15:6 If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. 15:7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. 15:8 Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.

15:9 As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. 15:10 If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love [see Works Means Obedience]." (John 15:1-10 KJV)

"11:45 Then answered one of the lawyers, and said unto him, Master, thus saying thou reproachest us also.

11:46 And he said, Woe unto you also, ye lawyers! for ye lade men with burdens grievous to be borne, and ye yourselves touch not the burdens with one of your fingers.

11:47 Woe unto you! for ye build the sepulchres of the prophets, and your fathers killed them. 11:48 Truly ye bear witness that ye allow the deeds of your fathers: for they indeed killed them, and ye build their sepulchres. 11:49 Therefore also said the wisdom of God, I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they shall slay and persecute: 11:50 That the blood of all the prophets, which was shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation; 11:51 From the blood of Abel unto the blood of Zacharias, which perished between the altar and the temple: verily I say unto you, It shall be required of this generation.

11:52 Woe unto you, lawyers! for ye have taken away the key of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered.

11:53 And as he said these things unto them, the scribes and the Pharisees began to urge him vehemently, and to provoke him to speak of many things: 11:54 Laying wait for him, and seeking to catch something out of his mouth, that they might accuse him." (Luke 11:45-54 KJV)

987: Hugh Capet was crowned King of France, beginning the Capetian dynasty that would rule France until the French Revolution in 1792.

1608: Samuel de Champlain established a settlement at Quebec City, the first in "New France." A few days later, Champlain learned of and thwarted a plot within his own people to end the French fur trading monopoly - to shoot Champlain and hand Quebec to the Basques or Spain.

1754: During the Seven Years War (a European and North American conflict; in North America it is commonly known as the French and Indian War), British forces under George Washington (then a loyal Major in the British Army in Virginia) surrendered Fort Necessity to the French.

1814: During the War of 1812 (1812-14), Fort Erie, Ontario was briefly captured by a U.S. invasion force. It was the last time that foreign troops occupied Canadian territory.

1844: The last known pair of Great Auks were killed.

1886: Karl Benz of Germany introduced the Benz Patent Motorwagen, the first automobile.

1928: In London, John Logie Baird transmitted the world's first color television transmission.

1940: British forces attacked and severely damaged the French fleet at its moorings at Mers-El-Kebir after the French admirals refused to sail it out of Petain's Vichy government control (which was collaborating with their Nazi conquerors). Over 1,300 French sailors were killed in the action.

1962: President Charles de Gaulle of France declared Algeria independent, ending the Algerian War of Independence against France.

1976: Israeli commandos, using 4 Hercules transports and a Boeing 707 command plane, conducted the "Raid on Entebbe" in Idi Amin's Uganda to rescue the hostages (83 of whom were Israelis threatened with death if the Israeli government did not release the 53 Palestinian terrorists it held) aboard an Air France airliner that had been hijacked shortly after takeoff from Athens airport on June 27. The terrorists and a number of Ugandan soldiers were killed; of the 104 captives rescued, 4 were killed. An Israeli officer, Lt. Col. Yonatan Netanyahu (brother of then future Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu) was the only Israeli military casualty.

1979: The U.S. began supplying insurgent forces in Afghanistan with military equipment to fight the Russian invasion of Afghanistan (a few years later, the U.S. found itself fighting those same Afghan defenders after the U.S. invaded Afghanistan).

1987: In France, Klaus Barbie, the Nazi "butcher of Lyon," was jailed for life for wartime crimes against humanity.

1988: The U.S. missile cruiser Vincennes shot down Iran Air Flight 655 over the Persian Gulf just off the coast of Iran, killing all 290 civilian passengers and crew aboard. The captain of the warship claimed that he mistook the unarmed airliner, flying on its authorized flight plan, for a hostile military aircraft.

1996: British Prime Minister John Major announced that The Stone of Scone ("The Stone of Destiny" beneath the seat of the Coronation Chair) would be returned to Scotland. The announcement came on the 700th anniversary of the 400 pound slab of reddish-grey sandstone (of a variety not found in Britain, but which is quite common in the land of Israel) being taken from the Scottish by Edward I in 1296 during the Wars of Independence.

2006: An asteroid passed within 432,308 kilometers / 268,624 miles of Earth (about the distance between the Earth and moon).